MP calls for rare earth shipping ban

Lynas Corporation
’s plan to mine rare earths in Western Australia and ship them to Malaysia for processing is facing opposition from a new quarter.

Independent West Australian MP Adele Carles has called on the state government to stop the company exporting rare earths through the port of Fremantle. But the company said the appeal was “alarmist" and without grounds.

In a statement yesterday, Ms Carles, the member for Fremantle, said she was not convinced that concentrate from Lynas’s Mount Weld mine, near Laverton, was absolutely safe.

The concentrate has been classified as “non-hazardous for transport" under the Australian Dangerous Goods Code, and is not considered a radioactive material.

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“Transportation of rare earths concentrate along the approved transport route to Fremantle port does not present a radiation risk to public health or the environment," he said.

“Attempts to portray the material as either radioactive or similar to Magellan lead are alarmist and either mischievous or ill-informed."

The spokesman confirmed that Lynas was due to meet Ms Carles today to give her a safety briefing. The appointment had been made before she issued her statement.

In Malaysia, Lynas has been the target of protests over fears that radiation from the processing plant it is building in the state of Kuantan might endanger the health of the local community.

Ms Carles is this week hosting a delegation from the Save Malaysia! Stop Lynas! movement, which has been behind the protests.

Earlier this year the community backlash prompted the Malaysian government to ask the International Atomic Energy Agency to conduct a review of the facility.

The report, which was delivered at the end of June, found the plant was safe and compliant with international standards, but made 11 recommendations for improvement.

Before the Malaysian government grants Lynas a pre-operating licence, which is the next step in the approval process, the company has to meet specific requirements.

The most important of these is a plan for permanently storing the residue created by the processing facility.

Lynas will not start shipping rare earths concentrate through Fremantle until the pre-operating licence is secured from the Malaysian authorities. Lynas executive chairman
Nick Curtis
expects this to happen by the end of the year.

Shares in Lynas fell 7¢ to $1.69 yesterday, while the broader sharemarket indices also finished lower.